Dwyane Wade: Returning to Miami an ‘Easy Decision’

Dwyane Wade is back where it all started for him in the NBA, and says wrapping up his Hall of Fame career in South Beach was an “easy decision.”

The man once known as Flash has graciously accepted a reduced role for a franchise he dragged to the mountaintop.

Wade, 36, acknowledges that things didn’t exactly work out for him during brief stops in both Chicago and Cleveland.

Per SB Nation:

Asked if he would trade the potential to win a championship for more playing time, he pauses for a moment, and laughs. Once a return to Miami was on the table, every calculation fell away. “It was easy,” he tells SB Nation. “It was an easy decision.”

The Miami Vice iteration of Wade’s jersey sold out within 24 hours after his return. Donning it prior to the game, Wade is once again a civic emblem, the sole sheriff of Wade County. ”Down here,” says [Miami Heat head coach Erik] Spoelstra, “he’s as impactful as the mayor.”

The Heat are seen as an enviable institution, merely a cut below the Spurs and Warriors in terms of organizational culture. But they’re reluctant to participate in their own myth-making. Wade references an aura about the Heat, but he can’t pinpoint specifics. Spo’s go-to response: “We’re not for everyone.”

”It’s not for everyone is about I’m not for everyone,” says Wade. “I’m for Miami. I might not be for everyone in Chicago or Cleveland.”